A Drunken Mistake?
by becstaarrrr
Summary: When Rachel and Chris left the pub, were they drunk and not completely with it? or was it true love? Rachel has to make a difficult choice... to live for the not so long ago past or the present? Chris or Eddie? Her future depends on it...
1. Chapter 1

A Drunken Mistake?

**Disclaimer – I do not own Waterloo Road or any of the characters – although I wish I did!**

**Oh and I have not abandoned my other fic, will update that soon as**

**Ok, so as it did a lot of you, the end of series 5 eppy 10 got me thinking – a little too hard to be honest and the only way I could channel my unknown feelings was writing this…**

**It hasn't been Beta(ed) but I hope you enjoy it all the same, I was desperate to post it. Now, I just wanna say before you start reading, I am a Reddie person and love them to bits, but I do find Rachel and Chris sweet, saying this though, Things may not happen as they seem if I carry on… Enjoy!**

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Sunlight penetrated through the gap in the curtains, the light falling onto Rachel's face, warming her blushing cheeks. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times before her eyesight adjusted to the new light. She sat up, and pushed the covers off her. As she looked to her side, the events of the previous night came rushing back. As she gasped unbelievably she suddenly registered the unfamiliar room that she was in and the faint smell of alcohol.

She put her hand through her honeycomb hair as she weighed up her choices as her next move. It seemed pretty limited with her point of view.

Option 1) Quickly leave and ignore him forever

Option 2) Leave now and talk about it at school, face the facts

Option 3) Stay and discuss

As she thought through her options, the effect of last night's alcohol made her slightly dizzy and she leant back on the headrest of the bed. She glanced over at the sleeping form of her deputy and sighed. Chris was so sweet. She smiled, faintly remembering the activities of last night as they'd left the pub. And he had stuck up for her when Max tried to provoke her about her past that she'd tried so hard to move on from. But it also reminded her of someone, something else. That someone was Eddie -when he punched Stuart Hordley, for her, just as Chris had.

She needed time to think about it, her head was swimming with possibilities – she didn't want to loose her strong friendship with Chris - but she didn't know if she wanted to take it any further. Chris was sweet and he obviously fancied her, but he was almost 9 years her junior and her deputy head – even though that hadn't stopped her last time. She'd always have memories of Eddie too, she'd probably start comparing Chris with him, and that wouldn't be fair on Chris.

She pulled the covers off her and started to collect her clothes that had been thrown all over the room, obviously in the heat of last night. She found her way to the bathroom and quickly got dressed; she'd have a shower when she got home. She just needed to get her head straight.

She grabbed her bag and slowly made her way down the stairs, trying not to make too much noise as she took her phone out and dialled the number for a taxi.

"Yes, hello I'd like a taxi, just one person. Yeah picked up from Cranford Road please… Thanks" She opened the front door and she tried to pull it shut. It got stuck and as she struggled to close it something caught her eye, on a shelf in his living room.

Kerplunk

She let out a small giggle as she remembered their conversation yesterday morning. She suddenly felt guilty though. How could she just walk out and not tell him why? She pushed the door open again, dropping her bag on the floor.

She knelt down and scrabbled around in her bag for her notepad and a pen. She ripped a piece of the paper out and scribbled a note to Chris in her neat, looping hand writing.

_Chris,_

_Sorry for leaving so promptly, I had to dash off._

_Thank you for last night – you showed Max where he stands!_

_Hope your hand feels better today, it looked sore last night._

_Shall see you at school – Monday 4__th__ January!_

_Rachel x_

She added the kiss as an after thought; she couldn't leave him not knowing that they could still be friends. She quickly tip-toed up the stairs and opened the door to the bedroom, placing the note on the bedside table, making a quick and quiet escape down the stairs again, not wanting to wake Chris. She grabbed her bag and started trying to close the door again – there was obviously a special way of doing it, but Rachel just didn't know how.

As the taxi pulled up next to the house Rachel heard a voice from inside.

"You don't do it like that. You have pull the handle up at the same time." Chris pulled the door fully open and gave Rachel a heart wrenching smile.

"You didn't think I was gonna let you leave, with only a note until the 4th of January did you?"

Her heart skipped a beat and she half-heartedly pointed to the taxi.

"I've, got to go and… errr… pick my car up from the pub." She said feebly. Chris smiled,

"Two minutes and I'll be with you." Before Rachel had a chance to say anything or even try to stop him, Chris had bounded up the stairs, two at a time and a few minutes later re-emerged in a jumper and jeans. He put a pair of black converse on and when the Taxi driver peeped the horn in frustration, Rachel and Chris left the house- Chris shutting the door firmly behind them- and got into the taxi.

They both caught each other's gaze and smiled, unsure what the other was thinking. They both sat back and as the taxi pulled out of Cranford road, towards the Castle Inn, Chris took Rachel's hand in his and squeezed it tight.

"Rach? Come back to mine afterwards?"

"Well errr…"

She had a choice now.

Chris and an assured relationship – but it wouldn't be easy, not for her, not with what she'd had with Eddie. Or the memories of being with Eddie but the chance of wrecking a perfect friendship.

"We could play Kerplunk?"

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**Please tell me what you think, should I leave it there? xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 …coz people actually wanted more! :D**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed :) i'm soooo glad you liked it. This chapter is shorter than the first but i really wanted to update, so that you could all read :)**

**This is dedicated to everyone who reviewed, especially Saffiya Scarlett - she's a cool kid and thank youuu to you all :)**

Chris pulled up outside his house, after he and Rachel had taken a small detour to her own house, to have a quick shower and get changed into something a bit more slack. Even Rachel didn't know how tempted Chris had been to follow her into her house.

Instead, Chris sat in his car and thought about everything that had happened in the last few days, Max leaving, the allegations against him – involving Rachel's Nephew, Him and Rachel. He sighed quietly to himself as he looked up at Rachel's bedroom window. He could see her busying herself around, obviously trying not to take too long on his behalf.

About 10 minutes later, Chris had been brought back down to Earth, after dreaming about Rachel, when she opened the passenger car door and got in next to Chris,

"All ready to go then?"

"Errrr… Yeah I think so." Rachel pulled at her seatbelt and clipped it in. She still wasn't sure what she was going to say to Chris when they actually got back to his house. She didn't know what Chris was going to say. She put her hand through her hair, brushing it back off her face slightly, and leaned back against the head rest. She had approximately 15 minutes to get her thoughts straight, before she needed to make her decision.

Thousands of thoughts ran through her mind, making the decision harder and harder for her

Chris and her, her and Eddie, her and relationships in general, school rules, LEA rules – it's unprofessional to be in a relationship with another member of staff, but she'd done it before… her staff – what would they think? They'd all had bets on her and Eddie getting together and they had all seemed genuinely happy when they became an 'us'. The pupils too! The pupils had very much been happy when she had been with Eddie- they'd seen them as 'a match made in heaven'. But that was all in the past now, Eddie was gone and there was not a cat in hell's chance of getting him back, he had other priorities now. Then there was Chris, one of the sweetest young men she had ever met but the age difference between them was quite significant, and he was her deputy. But Eddie had been too.

Those 15 minutes went quicker than Rachel wanted and as they both stepped out of the car, she rubbed the sides of her head gently , trying to calm her thoughts.

"You alright Rach?"

"Yeah Chris, I'm fine." She followed him up to the front door and he demonstrated to Rachel the knack of opening and closing his front door. She giggled slightly as he took the mick out of her attempts earlier.

When Chris had finished mucking around, Rachel followed him into the kitchen, where he offered her a seat at the breakfast bar. She gratefully took it, taking in her surroundings as it was fair to say she didn't get that opportunity last night.

"Is Ribena alright Rach?" Chris asked as he pulled out the bottle from the cupboard. "It's all I've got. I need to go shopping to be honest with you." He laughed.

"Yeah, Chris that's fine." Rachel smiled. Truth be told, she'd never had Ribena, not since she was a kid.

Taking her drink off Chris she took a long sip of it and put it down in front of her. It was time to get into the heart of the matter. She never had been one for waiting around, beating around the bush really wasn't her style.

"Chris?"

"Yeah Rach?"

"Last night…" She stumbled on her words slightly and faultered.

"I meant what I said Rachel. But it's up to you. If you'd rather not get involved, I'll just have to have a school boy crush on the headmistress." He smiled reassuringly. He didn't want to push Rachel into anything she didn't want to do he'd known at the start of term that it was unlikely anything would happen between them. But he was glad he'd told her, at least she knew how he felt now. He had a chance didn't he?

"No, Chris. I wasn't going to say anything like that." Or was she? She didn't even know what she was going to say,

"It's just… complicated, that's all." She looked up and immediately regretted it. She couldn't take her eyes away from him.

"Well I'm listening Rach"

**Please Review, there will be a bit more action next chapter :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a forewarning that I go back to school tomorrow "/ Oh the joys, and so updates won't be as frequent as they have been.**

**Thank you for all your reviews I hope I haven't ruined this story, I am really enjoying writing it :) Please enjoy, and review xx**

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Chapter 3… why can nothing be simple at Waterloo Road?

Rachel dumped some of the paperwork onto her desk, the past two weeks holiday had just flown by, far too quickly in her eyes. She sat down in her chair and took out a biro, she reasoned with herself that if she got through all the work, the day just might go quicker.

As she read and signed the never-ending papers, some on the suspension of Max, others of LEA visits and governors meetings, a certain someone walked into her office, a wide grin on his face.

"Morning beautiful" He said, dumping his satchel on the table, in the corner of the room.

"Chris, I thought we decided not in school!" Rachel said, failing to keep a stern approach and ending up giggling slightly. Chris put his hands up in the air, as if surrendering.

"Sorry Miss!"

They both started laughing again and Chris sat on Rachel's desk, facing her.

"Now, we need to be on our best behaviour today because a certain Jennifer, from the LEA is coming in.

"Max's wife?"

"Indeed," Rachel gently slapped Chris on the leg as she stood up and went to the window. "Not entirely sure what time she's coming though."

"Why's she coming anyway?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." She turned to face Chris, finding him nosily reading the paperwork that she had left on her desk. "Christopher!" She said, in a mock parent voice. He quickly looked over to her and sported a cheeky smile. "Staff briefing?" Rachel asked.

Rachel and Chris exited her office and walked down the corridors leading to the staffroom. Rachel's thoughts were spinning around in her head again, permanently asking herself if she had done the right thing. She always worried about the decisions she made, never knowing if it was seen as the 'right' one.

That day, after the night at the pub, she'd told Chris almost everything, it had all came spilling out, tears and all. She'd practically told him her life story at Waterloo Road, filling in the things that Newspapers had so expertly missed. Eddie, blackmailing, Stuart Hordley, her past, the fire, the gun, her scar (when it had been), the drugs, Maxine, Ralph Mellor, Melissa, the bigamy, her attempts at resigning, the good times she'd had with Eddie, Philip, The choir competition, pregnant Melissa, The bulldozer and then finally Max. It had all come pouring out, she had confided everything in Chris. He hadn't tried to stop her but he was there for her afterwards, offering the sympathy and support she needed so much. And in the end, through all the confusion, she'd finally chosen.

She'd chosen Chris. Above everything else, that's who she'd chosen. He'd been happy that she had done so, but she'd wanted to take it slowly – and certainly nothing at school, for the time being. She was still nervous about what the staff would say, let alone the LEA.

They had finally come to the staffroom, Chris opened the door and Rachel smiled gratefully, and as she walked in hush fell across the staffroom.

"Ok everyone, I hope you all had a good Christmas break and are now all ready to get going again."

"Hmmm…" Grantly mumbled sarcastically. Rachel shot him a glance and continued,

"Errr.. there isn't much from me apart from that Jennifer from the LEA is coming in today- not sure why- so keep on your best behaviour. Oh and that Tom, I need to discuss the budget with you for the English department." As she turned to leave, Steph called to her,

"Where did you and heart-throb over there rush off to the last night of term, eh?" Rachel spun around faster than she hoped and she slightly lost her footing. Chris ran to her and grabbed her before she fell.

"Thank you Chris. Steph, I don't know what you're on about, we shared a taxi home." Rachel and Chris walked out of the staffroom.

"Ohhh touchy touchy, me thinks a certain head teacher is onto her next deputy already!" Steph smirked.

"Oh shut up Steph, it's kind of good that she's getting over Eddie, although I wouldn't say Chris was her type, Rachel and Eddie were great together." Tom said defensively.

"Ahhh well she couldn't afford to be picky all those years ago, it must have stayed with her." Grantly mumbled from the corner, everyone choosing to ignore him.

Rachel almost threw the door open and quickly turned to face Chris.

"Trust Steph to notice. She knew exactly what happened, and if she didn't I'm sure her imagination would do the rest. Oh Chris, what do we do? I didn't want the staff to know as soon as this, but I don't want the rumours going round either."

"Shhhh, look we'll find someway of getting around it," Chris held Rachel by her arms, hoping she'd just calm down and relax. "Hopefully, it'll all have blown over by tomorrow and then we can do things at our own pace." Rachel nodded and hoped that Chris's words were true.

Chris enveloped her in a big hug and after a while the bell for morning lessons sounded through the school. Rachel reluctantly drew back and as she walked to her desk, Chris caught her arm and pulled her back. He leant forward and their lips met in a passionate kiss, despite Rachel's wishes for them not doing so at school.

Neither of them realised the door opening, a rather confused looking man staring at the pair in a daze. He slowly closed the door and turned to face Jennifer.

"It's probably best if you didn't go in there just yet…" He said, trying to take in the scene for himself.

Hearing voices, Rachel and Chris quickly pulled apart and as Rachel opened the door to her office, she saw the back of a man. She blinked several times as it just wouldn't register in her head.

"Ahh Rachel," Jennifer said. "I believe you've met before" She said as the man turned to face a rather baffled looking Head Teacher.

"Eddie?"

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**Please Review :) ****x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Heyy guys, sorry it's been so long since i last updated. Thank you sooo much for all your reviews though, they keep me going and make me smile :D**

**I need to thank Ruth (da ruth) for her help with this chapter. :) thank youuu x**

**So... enjoy chapter 4! :)**

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Jennifer invited herself into Rachel's office, sensing a small tension between the Head and the not so newly met member of staff. She smiled at Chris who tried to mouth something to her but she didn't pick up what he was trying to tell her. Rachel was still baffled but she tried to cover it up with a professional look. She quickly turned around and quickly walked over to her desk, giving herself time to cover up any emotions that decided to show.

As she sat down in her chair she watched Eddie close the door behind him, an awkward silence filled the room. Chris picked his bag up off the table.

"I'll get out the way then…" He went to leave, but Jennifer stopped him,

"No, Chris this involves you as well."

Rachel's thoughts started to make sense. Eddie? It involves Chris and the LEA? The night at the pub. Chris punching Max. Eddie taking over. New Deputy head, well …old deputy head. Eddie… they're going to get rid of Chris…

Despite the confused look on Rachel's face, Jennifer continued,

"After Max had gone, the LEA decided that it was partly their fault that Max was not stopped sooner and his teaching methods questioned. We now see that it was the wrong decision to keep Max at Waterloo Road full time…"

"So why's Eddie here?" Rachel asked, still confused why Eddie was there, when all Jennifer had done so far was apologise.

"I was just about to get there. The LEA have decided that they should give you some more support as a head teacher. With this help, hopefully we can get this merger back on track as soon as." Rachel didn't know what to make of things.

Here was Jennifer offering her and Chris a helping hand with the school…which she was grateful for. But why did they choose Eddie? It could have been anyone, but no. It had to be him. It was nice to see him again, but memories started flooding to her head – both good and bad.

She looked over at Chris who was smiling at her, his eyes telling her to say something.

"Eddie will be your associate head – see him as a second deputy." Jennifer knew there were things that had to be said between Rachel and Eddie and so she placed a file on Rachel's desk and quickly excused herself from the tension filled office.

Chris walked over to Eddie and offered him his hand, Eddie took it and they firmly shook. Both of them forcing a smile for the other.

"I'm Chris, deputy… am I still deputy? Or 'joint deputy'?" He said jokingly, looking at Rachel for his answer. But she was miles away, in the land of her own thoughts. Both men looked to each other and silently decided to leave her for a bit.

"Eddie Lawson, I believe I may be the associate head. Or joint deputy, which ever one Rachel decides on. The two men shared another smile, both thinking about one person. Rachel.

Chris knew about Rachel's past relationship with Eddie, she'd told him everything that morning. What was she going to do now he's back? Would he still want to be with him? He promised he wouldn't push her too hard. But the kiss they had just shared…. But that was before Eddie had come back. Poor Rachel –But he was going to be with her, every step of the way… he just hoped that Eddie wasn't going to damage his and Rachel's relationship. He knew she needed time to think.

"errr, sorry Eddie. Do you wanna come down to the staffroom for a bit, see some old faces – I'm sure they'll all love to see you again. Oh and there's a few new faces too!" Chris didn't realise that Eddie had been staring at Rachel all the time he'd been thinking. Chris opened the door and Eddie wlked out, making his eyes linger on Rachel for as long as possible, just wishing that he could comfort her and explain.

The two men wlked down the corridor, both aware of the tension between them, yet not knowing what it was exactly that the other was thinking

In an attempt to break the silence, Chris started to talk,

"Man U or Man City?"

"Huh?" Eddie looked at Chris, his thoughts interrupted by a question he hadn't quite heard.

"Football. Who do you support?"

"I'm a Man City fan, you?" The idle chatter filled the corridor, pushing away the tension at once.

If only the same had happened in Rachel's office…

She put her head in her hands and at once silent tears began to fall. But she didn't know why she was crying – out of happiness? Disappointment? Why was her life so messed up in everyway possible. Before Eddie had come, her and Chris had just shared an exquisite kiss – it just proved that they were both happy with each other. Chris was so sweet to her too. But it hadn't been Eddie's fault he left and then the LEA decided to bring him back. She was happy to see Eddie again – she hadn't seen or heard anything of him since the end of last term. But…

Rachel wiped her tears away with the back of her sleeve, annoyed that she'd let herself cry whilst in school. She stood up and straightened out her skirt and jacket. Walking over to the window she looked down to see pupils running into the school as the bell for form time rang. She put on her professional front and forced a smile as if practising.

Chris would be taking his form class now.

There was only one thing that Rachel needed to do and as she set off, out of her office and down the corridor her feet took her there, not giving herself the chance to think of what she was going to say. She walked into the empty staffroom and found Tom and Eddie sitting in the corner, mugs of tea in their hands. Eddie looked up as she walked in and smiled.

"Rachel… I need to talk to you." He put his tea down and walked up to her. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I think we both do. We'll go to my office."

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**Please review :) xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter…. 5! :O wowsa!**

**I never thought i'd get as far as chapter 5!!! So thank you for all your reviews, they make me really happy :D Sorry for it being so long since i last updated - there's sooooo much going on at the moment! :)**

**Enjoy!**

Rachel opened the door to her office and quickly negotiated between the sofas and her desk. She made a beeline for the sofas and before sitting down turned around to see Eddie who had followed her up. She smiled – she'd loved it when he used to appear at her door, often surprising her and giving her an excuse to put the paperwork off for a little longer. He returned the gesture and decided to join her. Deep down he was worried about what she was about to tell him… even more so about how she'd take his news.

An awkward silence filled the room as they both avoided each others eye contact and weren't sure where to start. Eddie finally managed to pluck up the courage,

"Rach? Rachel, look at me," Eddie urged her. She did as he said and their eyes instantly locked, Rachel instantly regretting it. It would make it harder to… to tell him, but unknowingly, he continued, "I'm sorry for – " He started soon being stopped by Rachel.

"No Eddie, you're not the one who needs to apologise…." She swallowed down the tears and carried on, now facing Eddie, "I completely ignored you and Mel for the whole of the holidays, I even turned Phil away – which I can't ever forgive myself for. I thought once I got back to work it would be fine, but it wasn't. It was far from it to be honest with you. And I didn't have you here, to help me pick up the pieces of the disaster they called a merger." She stopped again and put her hand up to stop Eddie from saying anything, she needed to tell him how she felt – no interruptions.

"I didn't have the best start to the new term that I hoped would go so well and I… I…. It doesn't matter about that, but I need to tell you something and I need you to hear me out on it." She gathered her thoughts quickly, not sure if or how she was going to get Eddie to understand. She drew in a breath only to be cut short by the sound of Eddie's voice.

"Before you do Rach, I need to tell you something," Rachel sighed. She'd been ready to tell him and now he'd decided that he needed to say his piece first.

"Look, I can tell that you're not very happy at me for stopping you, but I can't let you blame yourself – I should have come back, especially when Melissa left again."

"She left?" Rachel's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Where's she gone? Are you and Phil ok?" Rachel was full of questions.

"Which one of those do you want me to answer first?" He asked, smiling, placing a hand on her knee to calm her down slightly,

"Rach, I'm fine. Phil's devastated, but that's to be expected again – think he understands that he may not see his mother for a while yet. I think he's just trying to get over it. But he shouldn't have to do that. Anyway…. When the LEA offered me this job I saw it as a chance… a second chance at the school. And a third chance with you?" Rachel could feel the tears forming in her eyes and Eddie took her in his arms, hugging her, protecting her, loving her.

Why did he have to be so sweet? Why did he have to be so understanding? Why did he have to be so gorgeous and loving? Why did he have to be Eddie? It was going to be so hard to tell him about Chris. Should she tell him? But…. poor Eddie, he wants another chance…. And so did she…. Or did she? She was with Chris… but she was the best to know that the past will always be with you, whatever you do, wherever you go.

Her thoughts ran round her head, not giving her a chance to make sense of them. She still silently cried - her head nestled into the crook of his neck, slightly dampening his shirt.

"But…" Rachel started, looking up at him "I…. I… I'm with… I'm with Chris." Eddie's face instantly fell and Rachel wasn't sure what to do. "And… and I told him about what had happened between us. He understood…" Rachel didn't get chance to finish.

"I know." He said, with a slight sound of disappointment in his voice.

"What?" Rachel asked him, harshly wiping her tears away with the back of her sleeve.

"I saw you earlier…kissing."It pained Eddie to say it and he saw Rachel's initial reaction – shock and ashamed but Rachel suddenly turned away and tried to avoid eye contact again.

"Rachel…."

"No Eddie, I'm sorry. I… I… " She stood up and turned away frantically trying to pull herself together. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy from the crying.

"Look Rach, I just need to say one more thing – I don't want to upset you, I know you have Chris now." The disappointment evident in his voice. "But you have to remember what we had… and that…"

Just at that moment Chris walked in, as Eddie finished his sentence,

"I love you"

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**Please Review :) xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hellooo Everyone!!! I'm soooooo sorry I haven't updated in so long - Thank you for all your reviews though - they make me really happy :D  
Here's Chapter 6 so please Enjoy and comment :) xx**

**Chapter 6**

Rachel's face suddenly dropped as Chris heard Eddie's final three words. Eddie still loved her. Both men looked to Rachel, both waiting for her to react. She still remained silent, her eyes brimming with tears, but she didn't let them fall.

"I need…" She faltered slightly, but son straightened up again, her eyes still fixated on a spot on her office wall. "I need to think."

She said as she swiftly left her office, just hoping that Chris or Eddie didn't follow. She needed space, time to think away from things, away from people.

Leaving the anti chamber of her office she smiled reassuringly at Joyce who looked quite concerned for the headmistress. She didn't know where she was going, her feet just seemed to take her. She came to the entrance of the school, looking out onto the playground, the place she always came to think things over. She walked down the steps and when she knew there was no-one around she smoothed down her trousers and sat on the wall, her legs dangling elegantly over the edge.

Eddie. Chris. Phil. Melissa. Her. Her life was so complicated - nothing was simple and as much as she hated it, it was her life and she'd just have to muddle through - decision making was part of her job, but when it came to personal choices, Rachel Mason had never been the best decision maker. Everything swirled round in her thoughts, confusing her even more. Her thoughts were soon interrupted though,

"Rach?"

Rachel pushed a hand through her hair, the sunlight reflecting off the beautiful auburn and honeycomb highlights. She turned to see her Nephew standing at the steps. It was only then did she realise how little she'd seen of her nephew this term. No wonder he never told her about Melissa.

"Phil? Shouldn't you be in lessons?" She asked, silently hoping he'd say no - she did need to talk to him after all that she'd missed.

"Nah. I've got a free. I was just coming outside for a bit, when I saw you." He saw the pained expression on her face. "Rach? What's wrong?"

Phil dropped his bag off his shoulder and onto the floor, sitting next to his Aunt on the wall. They sat in silence for what seemed like forever, but it was a companionable silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Rachel, still looking towards the empty playground.

"I'm sorry, Phil, about… you're mum."

"I'm used to it Rach… Me and Eddie are much better off without her." He said awkwardly – he knew this conversation wouldn't be easy for either of them.

"But I should have been there, for you all." Rachel wiped the brimming tears with her sleeve jacket, not wanting Phil to see how upset she was. "I hardly spoke to you at all last term."

"Look, Rach, It's fine. I know that Eddie couldn't wait to get started again here. He wants to make sure your ok." Phil awkwardly put an arm around his Aunt, trying to comfort her, but his words only seemed to make her cry harder. He didn't know what to do, how to make the tears stop falling. This was Rachel Mason, his Aunt, he'd never seen her like this – well not this bad.

"Rach… Is something else the matter?" Rachel looked up at her nephew – he really was concerned for her. But all she did was shake her head.

"No Phil, I'm fine. I just need to clear my head," Phillip took this as his cue to leave. Picking his bag up and walking up the steps he turned back to his Aunt,

"Rach?" He waited for her to turn to face him again, "Eddie still loves you." And with that he'd walked into school – no doubt to find Ros.

Rachel hung on to his last words. 'Eddie still loves you'. Once again her thoughts were filled with happy memories of when she had been with Eddie. But then images of Chris came into her mind – his sweet smile and the silly jokes he had made. Silent tears fell down her face still. Why was her life so complicated?? Her mind clouded with thoughts – just making her decision harder. But the options were pretty simple.

-Eddie

-Chris

-No-one

As she buried her face in her hands she didn't see Chris coming out of the school and sitting next to her on the wall, the same spot Phil had just been. She pushed her hand through her hair again as she often did when making a tough decision.

"Rach?" Chris asked. Rachel jumped and turned to face him quickly,

"Chris…" She didn't know what else to say.

"Look Rach, I just want to say that… I'll still be happy for you if you choose Eddie. You two have been through a lot together by the sounds of it!" He said smiling sorrowfully.

"You could say that" Rachel said whilst sniffing loudly.

"And so… I just wanted to let you know that I don't mind if you want to be with Eddie – Our relationship was fun whilst it lasted, but I'm not even sure if it's love anymore. And if it was, and is I'll just have to fancy the headmistress and be her secret admirer. Yeah?" Chris joked, pushing her hair off her face.

Rachel just nodded, "Thank you." She whispered quietly. Chris pulled her in for a friendly hug. "And we'll still be friends yeah?"

"Of course we will," Chris said reassuringly. Rachel slid off the wall onto the ground below, Chris following her lead. She brushed her jacket and the back of her trousers down and wiped her face from tears.

Her decision was made

**Please Review :) xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys :) I am so sorry that i have not updated this for ages! I do have another update that I'm working on at the moment, so it shan't be too long until i post that :D Thanks for all the reviews so far and please enjoy! **

Chapter 7

The bell for lunch time rang through the school, Kids filing out of their classrooms. The sight they were met with confused them slightly.

Rachel Mason, the reserved Head they all looked up to, was running down the corridor, the face still stained with tears. She held her jacket and her hair swished around her face as she ran up the stairs two by two. Seeing all the pupils she just ran quicker, maybe a bit too fast in heels. She flung open the doors and shot a reassuring smile towards Philip as she ran past him.

The kids were whispering to each other, trying to work out why their Miss Mason, the most senior member of staff, was running down the corridors after she'd obviously been crying.

Rachel finally made it into the anti-chamber of her office. Only then did she stop to sort herself out, or even make an attempt to. Joyce cleared her throat,

"Errr. Miss Mason are you ok?" Rachel sharply turned and plastered a huge, fake smile on her face.

"Yes thank you Joyce." With this she made her way to her office door, "Actually Joyce; Do you mind if you go and get a coffee or something. I errr… just need to…"

"Of course." Joyce said, understanding that Rachel needed some time with Eddie. She left her desk and made her way out, placing a gentle hand on Rachel's upper arm. Rachel breathed out slowly and opened the door to her office.

Eddie was sat on the sofas still – in exactly the same place that Rachel had left him. On hearing the door open his head shot up quickly and he smiled broadly at Rachel, taking his hands away from his face. He slowly stood up and walked towards her.

"Rach?" Eddie ventured, looking deep into her beautiful hazel eyes, trying to sense what she was feeling. "Rach look if…" Before he had time to finish Rachel had crashed her lips on top of his, silencing him but giving him the answer to his unasked question. Eddie deepened the kiss, his hands resting on Rachel's hips, pulling her closer to him. Rachel's hands wound round his neck delicately brushing through his hair.

After a short while Rachel pulled away, looking to see if there was any regret in his eyes.

"Eddie?" Rachel asked, just hoping he'd wanted that, that he wasn't now regretting it. All Eddie did was put his finger to her lips, silencing her.

"Rachel - are you sure you want this?" He asked her. He certainly wanted this but he wanted to make sure that she did too. She nodded, a small grin spreading across her lips.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rachel grabbed her bag and her coat from the back of her chair and her keys from the drawer. She'd told Eddie to come round hers tonight – that she'd cook and they could talk… about everything. Them, Melissa, Melissa's baby, Phil, the school, Chris. The list was endless. But despite this; a rather happy Rachel Mason strolled out of her office, because as far as she could see – she had Eddie back. As she walked down the corridor a rather happy looking Chris crossed her path.

"Chris? Are you ok?" Rachel asked – still a bit guilty for what she had done.

"Yeah thanks Rachel – don't worry about me. Just off down the pub. You and Eddie coming? Or have you got a bit of kissing, cuddling and making up to do?" He smiled cheekily.

"Something like that" Rachel said smiling, almost sadly. "I'd better go and find him actually"

"I think he's still in the staffroom collecting some stuff and talking to Tom. See ya later" Chris walked of down the corridor – a spring in his step. All because he'd just made the love of his life happy with another man.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Rach, that was lovely thank you." Eddie said as she sat down on the sofa next to him, snuggling into him and leaning her head on his chest. She couldn't believe that it had only been a week ago that she'd been snuggling up with Chris. But she knew one thing for certain this time… that her future with Eddie looked a lot brighter and although it felt wrong – what she had done to Chris – she couldn't help but smile at the situation she was now in.

"My pleasure." She looked up at him and smiled, placing her empty wine glass on the table before her. "Now… I think we need to talk."

"Oh Rach… can't we miss the talking out and go straight to the making up?"

Rachel put her head mistress face on and told Eddie rather sternly "No Mr Lawson. We need to sort things out. Properly" Eddie gave Rachel his best puppy eyes and she giggled, she could never resist those eyes of his.

"Well I suppose there's always tomorrow to talk" She smiled flirtatiously, the amount of wine they had drunk now evident although both were sober enough to know what they were about to do and neither of them were about to stop it.

**Pleeease Review... :) xx Oh and here's a little spoiler for the next part.. things don't always happen the way you plan...**


	8. Chapter 8

**I apologise sooo much for not updating this for ages - I'm going to try and update a bit more often!  
Thank you for all the reviews - they make me smile like a loooon :D**

**Please enjoy chapter 8 and review :)**

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Chapter 8

Rachel sat at her desk filing random pieces of paper that were now scattered before her. Looking at the clock she smiled – only 10 more minutes before she'd see Eddie again. It'd been four weeks since she'd made her choice, one that she knew would change her life one way or the other and although every so often she would feel guilty because of Chris, she felt she could safely say… she'd made the right choice.

As she stood up a feeling of dizziness hit her; she quickly felt for the chair behind her and sat back down. Putting a hand to her head she stopped the world from spinning around her. It wasn't the first time that had happened. She was just waiting for what usually happened next.

Rachel flung the office door open, her hand covering her mouth instinctively and she felt the newly familiar feeling in her stomach. She ran past a rather bewildered looking Joyce and straight to the staff toilets, making it there just in time.

After splashing her face with water and re-applying her lip gloss she made her way back to her office.

"Miss Mason… are you ok?" Joyce asked, a tone of voice that signalled she cared for Rachel. Rachel just nodded before giving her an answer,

"I must have eaten something dodgy this morning. I'm sure I'll be fine." Before Joyce had a chance to question her, Rachel walked into her office, shutting the door behind her. Glad to be alone again she say down on the sofas wondering why she had been so sick lately. However ill she was, it wasn't going to get in the way of her work.

The bell for lunch rang, but Rachel remained in her office, hoping that Eddie would come and have lunch with her. She continued signing some letters from the LEA and tried to ignore the sicky feeling still in her stomach.

She heard familiar footsteps, coming towards her office and moments later, Eddie was stood in the doorway grinning.

"Hello you," He said, causing Rachel to look up and smile. She stood up and walked over to him, ignoring the dizziness that once again caused her office to spin before her eyes. She walked over to him and he wrapped his arms round her waist.

Just as their foreheads touched, a rather flustered Chris came in. He saw Rachel and Eddie and as sad as he could have been on the sight that he was met with, he smiled and continued.

"Really sorry guys but there's a fight in the canteen. Errm, need your help – Rach it includes Bolton." Rachel's face turned to a frown and she quickly let go of Eddie.

"Right ok, I'm following you Chris, Eddie are you coming?" He nodded quickly as they both turned to follow Chris towards the canteen. Rachel just hoped it wasn't something serious – especially now that she knew Bolton was involved.

As she ran, she felt light headed, but being as stubborn as she was she just ignored it. Coming to the canteen she saw the problem.

"BOYS! Stop that at once!" At the sound of their head teacher's voice, both Bolton and Paul stepped away from each other. Rachel stepped towards them, the crowd surrounding them quietening down. Bolton laughed,

"Miss we were only mucking around, init Paul?" Rachel turned to Paul who had a smirk on his face.

"Yeah Miss, It were only about who got the last sausage – we didn't mean it." Eddie rolled his eyes, suppressing a laugh.

"Right then, both of you go up to my office, even if it was just messing around, We have no violence in this school." Rachel turned on her heel, but stumbled backwards as the dizziness took over again. Eddie grabbed her by the waist.

"You alright Rach?" She put a hand to her forehead and nodded.

"I'm fine thanks." She smiled. Eddie knew better than to argue with her, but he was concerned.

The two boys traipsed up to Rachel's office, following in her wake. She sat down at her desk.

"Boys can you just wait outside for a bit please" The two lads did as they were told and shut the office door behind them. Once again she massaged her head, trying to get rid of the headache that was brewing.

She hoped this bug would soon pass. The sickness, the dizziness, the headaches… and that's when it hit her.

Random screen caps


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